Methods and systems for navigating a vehicle including a novel fiducial marker system

Abstract

Methods and systems for navigating a vehicle along a surface employ a scanner to scan a light beam over the surface; employ light reflected by one or more fiducial markers on the surface onto pixels of a receiver to determine a spatial arrangement of the fiducial markers on the surface; and compare the spatial arrangement of the fiducial markers with a predetermined map of the fiducial markers to determine a location of the vehicle.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent of the United States is: 
     
       1. A method for navigating a vehicle along a surface, the method comprising:
 employing a scanner to scan a strobed light beam over the surface, wherein the strobed light beam provides strobed illumination of a plurality of lines across the surface to reduce motion blur, and wherein a stripe is formed by at least a portion of the plurality of lines having a width and a length across a field of view on a portion of the surface that is directly ahead of the vehicle; 
 employing light reflected by one or more fiducial markers on the surface onto pixels of a receiver to determine a spatial arrangement of the fiducial markers on the surface; 
 comparing the spatial arrangement of the fiducial markers with a predetermined map of the fiducial markers to determine a location of the vehicle; and 
 detecting a reflection of the stripe from the portion of the surface with the receiver, wherein the stripe's reflection is employed to determine three-dimensional spatial information and visual contrast information that is added in real time to the predetermined map for the portion of the surface that is directly ahead of the vehicle. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein employing the scanner comprises employing the scanner to sequentially scan the light beam along a line or region of the surface. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the scanner is configured to simultaneously illuminate a line across the surface with the light beam, wherein employing the scanner comprises employing the scanner to sequentially scan a series of lines on the surface. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , wherein each of the fiducial markers has one of a plurality of different colors, wherein employing light reflected by one or more fiducial markers comprises determining a color of each of the one or more fiducial markers using the reflected light. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising employing light reflected from an additional object on the surface onto pixels of the receiver to determine a position of, or to identify, the additional object. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 5 , further comprising determining a path to avoid the additional object. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising employing light reflected from the surface onto pixels of the receiver to determine condition of the surface. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 7 , further comprising adjusting operation of the vehicle in view of the determined condition of the surface. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 7 , further comprising adjusting a suspension system in view of the determined condition of the surface. 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 1 , wherein employing light comprises sequentially observing subsets of the pixels of the receiver in coordination with the scanning of the light beam. 
     
     
       11. A system to navigate a vehicle along a surface, comprising:
 a scanner configured to scan light over a field of view; 
 a receiver that comprises a plurality of pixels configured to detect light; 
 one or more memory devices that store instructions; and 
 one or more processor devices that execute the stored instructions to perform actions, including:
 employing a scanner to scan a strobed light beam over the surface, wherein the strobed light beam provides strobed illumination of a plurality of lines across the surface to reduce motion blur, and wherein a stripe is formed by at least a portion of the plurality of lines having a width and a length across a field of view on a portion of the surface that is directly ahead of the vehicle; 
 employing light reflected by one or more fiducial markers on the surface onto pixels of a receiver to determine a spatial arrangement of the fiducial markers on the surface; 
 comparing the spatial arrangement of the fiducial markers with a predetermined map of the fiducial markers to determine a location of the vehicle; and 
 detecting a reflection of the stripe from the portion of the surface with the receiver, wherein the stripe's reflection is employed to determine three-dimensional spatial information and visual contrast information that is added in real time to the predetermined map for the portion of the surface that is directly ahead of the vehicle. 
 
 
     
     
       12. The system of  claim 11 , wherein employing the scanner comprises employing the scanner to sequentially scan the light beam along a line or region of the surface. 
     
     
       13. The system of  claim 11 , wherein the scanner is configured to simultaneously illuminate a line across the surface with the light beam, wherein employing the scanner comprises employing the scanner to sequentially scan a series of lines on the surface. 
     
     
       14. The system of  claim 11 , wherein each of the fiducial markers has one of a plurality of different colors, wherein employing light reflected by one or more fiducial markers comprises determining a color of each of the one or more fiducial markers using the reflected light. 
     
     
       15. The system of  claim 11 , wherein the actions further comprise employing light reflected from an additional object on the surface onto pixels of the receiver to determine a position of, or to identify, the additional object. 
     
     
       16. The system of  claim 15 , wherein the actions further comprise determining a path to avoid the additional object. 
     
     
       17. The system of  claim 11 , wherein the actions further comprise employing light reflected from the surface onto pixels of the receiver to determine condition of the surface. 
     
     
       18. The system of  claim 17 , wherein the actions further comprise adjusting operation of the vehicle in view of the determined condition of the surface. 
     
     
       19. The system of  claim 17 , wherein the actions further comprise adjusting a suspension system in view of the determined condition of the surface. 
     
     
       20. The system of  claim 11 , wherein employing light comprises sequentially observing subsets of the pixels of the receiver in coordination with the scanning of the light beam. 
     
     
       21. A non-transitory processor readable storage media that includes instructions for navigating a vehicle along a surface, wherein execution of the instructions by one or more processor devices cause the one or more processor devices to perform actions, comprising:
 employing a scanner to scan a strobed light beam over the surface, wherein the strobed light beam provides strobed illumination of a plurality of lines across the surface to reduce motion blur, and wherein a stripe is formed by at least a portion of the plurality of lines having a width and a length across a field of view on a portion of the surface that is directly ahead of the vehicle; 
 employing light reflected by one or more fiducial markers on the surface onto pixels of a receiver to determine a spatial arrangement of the fiducial markers on the surface; 
 comparing the spatial arrangement of the fiducial markers with a predetermined map of the fiducial markers to determine a location of the vehicle; and 
 detecting a reflection of the stripe from the portion of the surface with the receiver, wherein the stripe's reflection is employed to determine three-dimensional spatial information and visual contrast information that is added in real time to the predetermined map for the portion of the surface that is directly ahead of the vehicle. 
 
     
     
       22. The non-transitory processor readable storage media of  claim 21 , wherein employing the scanner comprises employing the scanner to sequentially scan the light beam along a line or region of the surface. 
     
     
       23. The non-transitory processor readable storage media of  claim 21 , wherein the scanner is configured to simultaneously illuminate a line across the surface with the light beam, wherein employing the scanner comprises employing the scanner to sequentially scan a series of lines on the surface. 
     
     
       24. The non-transitory processor readable storage media of  claim 21 , wherein each of the fiducial markers has one of a plurality of different colors, wherein employing light reflected by one or more fiducial markers comprises determining a color of each of the one or more fiducial markers using the reflected light. 
     
     
       25. The non-transitory processor readable storage media of  claim 21 , wherein the actions further comprise employing light reflected from an additional object on the surface onto pixels of the receiver to determine a position of, or to identify, the additional object. 
     
     
       26. The non-transitory processor readable storage media of  claim 25 , wherein the actions further comprise determining a path to avoid the additional object. 
     
     
       27. The non-transitory processor readable storage media of  claim 21 , wherein the actions further comprise employing light reflected from the surface onto pixels of the receiver to determine condition of the surface. 
     
     
       28. The non-transitory processor readable storage media of  claim 27 , wherein the actions further comprise adjusting operation of the vehicle in view of the determined condition of the surface. 
     
     
       29. The non-transitory processor readable storage media of  claim 27 , wherein the actions further comprise adjusting a suspension system in view of the determined condition of the surface. 
     
     
       30. The non-transitory processor readable storage media of  claim 21 , wherein employing light comprises sequentially observing subsets of the pixels of the receiver in coordination with the scanning of the light beam.